


Letters

by froppii



Category: Bleach
Genre: Bleach - Freeform, Bleach anime - Freeform, Captain Kuchiki Rukia, F/M, Letters, RenRuki, aka rangiku being rangiku and then theres fluff, byakuya in protective big brother mode, how tag, i was rewatching part of bleach and i thought abt chaos insuing when there are two captain kuchikis, no ichihime for now but I'll write them soon i promise, rangiku is a ditz i apologize, renjixrukia, rukirenji, soul society - Freeform, these two are so pure, tōshirō is so done with rangiku's shit, urahara a whole troll
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-30
Updated: 2019-12-30
Packaged: 2021-02-27 03:18:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,574
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22040140
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/froppii/pseuds/froppii
Summary: Four months.It had been four months since Renji left for his mission to the material world.~~~In which Rukia misses Renji, Rangiku delivers letters to the wrong Captain Kuchiki, and big brother is watching.
Relationships: Abarai Renji/Kuchiki Rukia
Comments: 4
Kudos: 38





	Letters

**Author's Note:**

> I was talking to my sister after re-watching parts of Bleach, and we realized that the Soul Society must have been so chaotic, having two Captain Kuchikis. I came up with this scenario and now this is happening.  
> I know the timeline is different from what was established in WDKALY, but I thought this would be a funny scenario, so I'll forgive myself for a little canon-divergence.

Four months.

It had been four months since Renji left for his mission to the material world.

Rukia knew he wouldn't be in any real danger. The job wasn't all different than her first assignment to the world of the living. Monitor the town, exercise Hollows, and perform Konsō on any soul that hadn't yet passed on. The only reason they sent someone as high ranking as a Lieutenant was that the Soul Reaper assigned to the area was a complete imbecile, and somehow there were now _more_ Hollows than before he showed up. She knew he would be alright, and it would only be a few more weeks until he came back. It was nowhere near the longest they'd been apart, but still, she missed him.

Rukia was promoted to Captain of Squad Thirteen six months ago, and she and Renji decided to stop ignoring how they felt just a month before that. They'd managed to keep their relationship quiet so far. The only people who knew were Hinamori, Kira, and Hisagi. Not even their friends in the living world knew yet. 

He sent letters every few days with the help of some device from Urahara. She didn't know what it was or how it worked, that stuff was way over her head, but she was grateful. She had at least something to remind herself that he's okay, and will continue to be.

It was strange though, she thought, she hadn't gotten a letter in a couple of weeks. She told herself it was nothing, that Kisuke's invention was probably just on the fritz (as they often were). Even though she knew it was illogical to think otherwise, part of her was still worried. 

She clutched the last letter she had received from him in her hands, her eyes scanning the words for the umpteenth time.

_Rukia,_

_Hope you're still doing alright. I really wish this damn thing worked backwards so I could hear from you. That'd be nice, huh?_

_The other day I saved this kid from a Hollow. The giant bastard scratched up my shoulder a good bit, but no real damage. Before I did Kōnso on the kid, I got a good look at her. She reminded me of you. Honestly, it was a little weird. She had the same hair, same annoying attitude, and hey, she was even the same height as you! Maybe Urahara could get you some of those stupid platform sandals he has. You sure could use the extra height._

_I'll be back soon, I promise. Beat Madarame's ass for me, yeah?_

_Take care of yourself. Love you._

_Renji._

Rukia folded the letter back up and placed it on her desk. She tried (and failed) to refocus her attention on the mountains of paperwork she had to complete. She realized the effort was in vain and set down her quill. She needed to take a walk. 

**╔════▣◎▣════╗**

Hitsugaya Tōshirō entered his office in the Tenth Division barracks with four envelopes in hand, all bearing Kuchiki Rukia's name. He set them on his desk and sat down.

"Hey, Rangiku," he called.

His Lieutenant came through the door, and sat across from him, propping her chin up on her hand. 

"Hey, Captain, what is it?"

"I need you to run a quick errand for me."

"Hey, when did I become your little errand girl, _huh?"_ she whined, "I bet you're just being lazy, right?"

"Never thought I'd hear _you_ calling someone else lazy. Anyway, I need you to bring these to Captain Kuchiki for me," he said, gesturing to the envelopes. "They're from Abarai. Don't ask why I have them. Somehow everyone else is too busy to care or something."

"Oh, come on, you know I'm busy too."

Tōshirō rolled his eyes. "Right. I'm sure you would be _devastated_ to have to leave your desk for a few-"

"Fine!" Rangiku snapped, standing up and snatching the envelopes,"I'll take them to Kuchiki. But only because nobody else is going to do it."

Hitsugaya let out a long sigh, then stopped short, realizing his choice of words. He _really_ hoped Rangiku would check the name on the envelopes.

Evidently, she didn't, because not thirty minutes later, Hitsugaya received a request for Rangiku to report to the Squad Six barracks. 

**╔════▣◎▣════╗**

He wasn't surprised Matsumoto would make this mistake.

Kuchiki Byakuya looked down at the stack of letters sitting in front of him, marked with the name "Kuchiki Rukia".

As he skimmed through the contents of each one, he saw that they all told different Hollow-hunting stories, all with different results. In the end, they were all just long detours to the same one message.

He picked up the first letter and read how Renji signed it off.

_See you soon._

Another.

_Hope you're doing well._

Another.

_Miss you._

Another.

_I love you._

These letters were most definitely meant for the _other_ Captain Kuchiki.

Byakuya found himself rather unphased by Renji's words to his sister. He hadn't wanted to assume anything about their relationship, but he'd always had his sneaking suspicions. 

While he didn't want Rukia to do anything she would regret, he had also caught onto how his Lieutenant felt about his sister years ago, and he knew that Renji would do absolutely anything to keep Rukia safe and happy.

There was a tap on the door, and Matsumoto entered. 

"Captain Kuchiki?"

"Lieutenant," he said, sliding the letters towards her, "I believe you may have delivered these to the wrong person."

Rangiku scanned the letters, her eyes growing wider with each one.

"Gosh, Captain, I-" she froze. "Wait a minute...Renji and... _Rukia?"_

Byakuya saw her eyes sparkle and she grinned ear to ear. She grabbed the letters and ran out the door, calling "Sorry about that, Captain!" over her shoulder. 

Byakuya simply shook his head and returned to his work.

**╔════▣◎▣════╗**

Rukia was sitting back at her desk after returning from her walk when a breathless Rangiku burst through her door.

_"RUKIA! WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME YOU AND REN-"_

Quickly catching on to what the lieutenant had discovered, Rukia stood from her desk and rushed towards her, placing her hand over Rangiku's mouth.

"Not so loud," she hissed, "how did you even find that out?"

Rukia removed her hand to let Rangiku speak. Once she caught her breath, she let out her excitement in a flurry of squeals.

"You two are- but when did- and what about- you and Renji, you're, you're- _together?!"_

Rukia sighed and sat back down.

"Matsumoto...yes, Renji and I are together. How did you find out?"

Rangiku thrust the letters towards Rukia, and she froze when she saw Renji's name.

"These are..."

"From Renji! Captain Hitsugaya was going to bring them to you but then he told me to deliver them and so I did but I took them-"

"Alright, I get it," Rukia said, cutting off her rant. "Thanks, Rangiku, for bringing these. Just...don't tell anyone, okay?"

"You got it, Rukia!"

Rangiku squealed again, squeezed Rukia so tight she thought her lungs would burst, and bolted out the door.

Guess it's time for every spirit in existence to find out.

**╔════▣◎▣════╗**

Three weeks later, the Senkaimon was opened for Renji's return. A few people were gathered, mostly the lieutenants Renji was friends with, and a few other groups were walking through the square. Rukia arrived just as the gateway began to glow.

The first thing she saw was his hair, his scarlet ponytail standing out against the white light of the Senkaimon. He stepped through and the gates shut behind him, then disappeared.

The lieutenants greeted him with back pats, shoulder punches, and good-to-see-yous. When they backed away, she was finally able to get a good look at him.

"Renji."

He looked up from Momo and locked eyes with her, breaking into a huge grin. Rukia hardly felt her own legs moving, the only thing in her mind was _him._ She didn't care if people saw. Matsumoto probably told half the Soul Society by now anyway. She didn't see Madarame or Ise or Ayasegawa as she ran by, she only saw him.

She flung herself into him, her arms wrapping tightly around his middle as he leaned down to rest his chin on her head. 

"Rukia..." he breathed. 

Rukia didn't think she would cry. They had been apart before, for much longer. But she felt tears roll down her cheeks all the same, staining Renji's shihakusho. 

Renji pulled back a little bit and wiped the tears from her face with his thumbs.

"Oh, come on, it wasn't _that_ long," he said, smiling down at her, "I bet you didn't even notice I was gone."

Rukia sniffled and lightly kicked his shin.

"Shut up, jerk. You and your stupid letters."

She stood on her tip-toes and held his face between her hands, pressing her lips to his. He responded eagerly, leaning down further and running his hands through her dark hair. When they pulled apart, Rukia heard gasps and murmurs behind her.

"Captain Kuchiki...?"  
"Renji?!"

"Uh...Rukia?"

"Let 'em look," she said, grinning up at him, "I don't give a damn about them. I just need you."

Renji pulled her into a tight hug, chuckles and excited squeals rippling through the group around them. Matsumoto bounced up and down, clapping her hands, and Madarame mumbled something about it being "about god damn time."

Out of sight, around the corner of a building, Kuchiki Byakuya smiled.


End file.
